So, my trip to China did not start exactly as I’d planned. See, I’d imagined a few bumps in the road here and there, but that it would be a pleasant trip overall.
I was wrong.
Now, it really wasn’t as bad as it seemed at the time but between forgetting my winter jacked to the god-awful plane food to my parents not being able to come to the gate with me to being awake for 30 hours straight (I’m being literal when I say this) to luggage mishaps, my last few hours in America and my first few hours in China probably could have been better, to say the least.
When we first arrived in Beijing, the teacher that was supposed to pick is up and take us to Shijiazhuang texted us to tell us she was going to be about two hours late. We had to go through customs and find our way through the airport alone. We eventually found a Starbucks and after exchanging a bit of money at a currency exchange stand (and getting totally screwed over in the process with all of the fees) we bought some much needed caffeine (at a much-too-high price, might I add… but such is Starbucks)
When the teacher finally arrived, we took an hour and a half long cab ride to the train station which, on an unrelated note, gave me a bit of clarity on how big a city Beijing is. The train station and the airport are in the same city yet it took more than an hour to get from one point to another. You don’t even see that in New York City.
I was tired and hungry and frustrated. All in all, it wasn’t a great day. But I know that what I was really struggling with was missing everything I have in America. I miss my friends, my family, my bed, my house, my school, my reliably-located plumbing, and my easy access to the internet.
Still, as one of my best friends told me after a long, emotions-infused rant, I’m just going to go with the flow.
Elena's Travel Blog 